


Like An Arrow to the Heart

by penscritch



Series: The Modern AU [1]
Category: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System ( 人渣反派自救系统), 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | Rén Zhā Fǎn Pài Zì Jiù Xì Tǒng - Mòxiāng Tóngshiù
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, Modern AU, girl!Shen Qingqiu, girl!Shen Yuan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-02-01 17:52:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12709947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penscritch/pseuds/penscritch
Summary: Not every kid looks at their hot twenty-something teacher in class and thinks “I’m going to marry her,” then succeeds five years later.





	Like An Arrow to the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> In the interest of making the age difference not so dramatic, it’s only going to be a difference of 3-5 years. Nothing sexy happens until they’re both in their twenties, adult, and fully legal.
> 
> _Edit: Changed 'Unparalleled Cucumber' to 'Peerless Cucumber' because it's a better translation._

Luo Binghe was sixteen when he fell in love with the new teacher.

To be fair, he wasn’t the only one making eyes. Miss Shen Yuan was twenty-something and pretty, which was generally all it took for male hormones to get going at their age. But in Luo Binghe’s opinion, there was more to her than that. There was a grace and elegance to her that, though fairly conservative by modern standards, could only be called beauty. She was kind without being a pushover, strict without being overbearing, and her smile so wonderful that Luo Binghe did everything he could to get praised by her.

She was also intelligent enough to be on the fast track in getting her degree at university and was here to complete her hands-on experience requirement and had all the makings of a ‘female goddess.’

And therefore, by all rights, she should have been completely out of Luo Binghe’s reach.

 

* * *

 

 

“What are you doing getting your students to fall in love with you?” demanded Qi Qingqi. “It’s indecent.”

Shen Yuan just smiled. She packed away her notes and papers into the leather briefcase and snapped the clasps shut before she stood and spoke to her good friend.

“Qingqi, it’s nothing but hormones.” She patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. “Boys at that age are always like that. Some of the girls too,” she mused, thinking back on her pre-college days when girls and boys alike threw dignity out of the window to experience the springtime of love.

“It’s indecent!” repeated Qingqi, even more nettled. She’d experienced firsthand the cow-eyed glances directed at her friend throughout the years. It had nothing to do with hormones and everything to do with Shen Yuan’s personal charm. “Learn to control yourself!”

Shen Yuan sighed. “Give me one example,” she suggested, putting her briefcase to the side and leaning comfortably against the desk.

Unable to control her frustration any longer, Qingqi blurted out, “Luo Binghe!”

Shen Yuan stared at her, then smiled so brightly it was like a flower blooming. It was so infuriating that Qingqi wanted to punch her. “Binghe? You must be wrong. He’s just very dedicated to his studies and a very good boy.”

Feeling like she’d run into a brick wall, Qingqi deflated and said dully, in one last try: “You’re not even hearing yourself speak right now, are you?”

“I have high hopes for him,” Shen Yuan beamed. She was completely unconscious of how fond and proud that smile was, and how uncharacteristic it was for her cool and elegant character to emerge with this depth of emotion.

If Qingqi were the type of person to be fond of web novels, she’d know to identify this kind of feeling as ‘dog blood.’

 

* * *

 

 

Luo Binghe hadn’t made his way out of the terrible orphanage system and into independence without brains. Moreover, he had decisiveness and courage to go along with it.

So he asked for Miss Shen Yuan’s contact information boldly and waited for her verdict.

No other boys were around, and it was long enough after school on the last day of her tenure, set right before summer break, that no one else was around either in the office. The sun sloped down and bathed the room in warm golds and reds, draping over her white shirt.

Just when Binghe thought he was going to receive a very reasonable ‘no’ and began to wilt, Miss Shen Yuan smiled at him and reached for a notepad and pen.

Luo Binghe was so happy that he positively floated out of school that day as he went to his construction job, then home to his cramped apartment with noisy neighbors and the hot water that didn’t always work.

When he received a friendly goodnight text through WeChat from her that night, Luo Binghe felt like he could accomplish absolutely anything.

 

* * *

 

 

“Please tell me you didn’t give your contact information out to anyone,” Qingqi almost begged. “I hope you’re not that stupid.”

There had been a very traumatic incident (for Qingqi) involving Shen Yuan’s phone number in the past. Shen Yuan shrugged it off by simply getting a new phone, convinced that the endless confessions were nothing more than the latest scam or kidnapping hoax.

“Of course not!” Shen Yuan replied, offended. “I refuse to be made a target of scamming again.”

Qingqi breathed out a sigh of relief, then heard a tiny chime as Shen Yuan’s phone rang with a message alert. Shen Yuan excused herself quickly to check; Qingqi knew she’d been waiting for an update from the professors on whether or not her thesis passed inspection.

“You passed?” Qingqi asked, seeing Shen Yuan’s blinding smile.

“No, but I just got a message from Binghe. Do you remember him? He just made top of his class this semester! He’ll make valedictorian at this rate.”

Qingqi paled. “You… gave him your contact information?”

Shen Yuan looked up briefly from her excited texting and frowned after seeing Qingqi’s expression. “Yes, why?”

Qingqi grabbed her shoulders and resisted the urge to shake her. “It’s… It’s not safe!”

Shen Yuan looked at her pityingly. “It’s all right, it’s just Binghe.”

Qingqi was so angry that her vision briefly whited out. “That’s what they all say before the serial killers get them!” she shouted.

Shen Yuan sighed and scrolled through her phone, pulling something up before shoving it in Qingqi’s face. It was a picture of an innocently-smiling Luo Binghe with all his perfect-score test papers lined up in his hand like a fan.

“Does this look like the face of a serial killer to you?” she asked.

No, but it looks like the face of a man on a mission, thought Qingqi.

She suddenly felt extreme pity for a fellow student in their little circle of friends, Liu Qingge. He’d been fumblingly chasing after Shen Yuan (unsuccessfully) for years. He was handsome but so terrible when it came to romance that he only knew how to argue with her.

Another faint chime sounded and Shen Yuan beamed again. “Oh, I passed my thesis! I’ve got to tell Binghe.”

Qingqi gave up.

 

* * *

 

 

Peerless Cucumber: Congratulations on getting into Y University!

Glacier: Thank you very much! It’s all because of Teacher that I could make it.

Peerless Cucumber: Don’t discount your own efforts, you’re quite excellent yourself.

Glacier: (⁄ ⁄^⁄ᗨ⁄^⁄ ⁄)

Glacier: Will you come to see me at orientation?

Peerless Cucumber: Of course! How could I miss my important student coming to my university? This Teacher will treat you to a meal tonight to celebrate.

Glacier: I look forward to seeing you soon, Teacher!

Peerless Cucumber: Me too, Binghe! See you next week!

 

* * *

 

 

Though Shen Yuan never thought of herself as anything other than objectively good-looking, she was in reality the kind of beauty that grew upon acquaintance. Those who knew her best, loved her best. Those who’d met her for the first time only came away with the image of a pleasing face and an impression that lingered, like a faint fragrance.

Therefore, the orientation for the first years didn’t end up with multitudes of eyes staring at her. Most of the eyes were directed at those of her friends who were able to come with her.

Shen Yuan looked at them and had to sigh inside. Who told them to be so eye-catching… Qi Qingqi was a robust, energetic beauty of the no-nonsense kind. Yue Qingyuan was like a gentle, handsome boy next door or older brother while Liu Qingge exuded the air of a cold and unapproachable prince.

“I look forward to meeting this student of yours,” Yue Qingyuan said. Bless this soon-to-be brother-in-law of hers. He was so genuinely nice and kind that she often thought that her older sister, Shen Qingqiu, didn’t deserve him.

Liu Qingge looked away and grunted. Qi Qingqi looked at him with pity.

Shen Yuan also looked at him with pity. This poor martial arts-obsessed young man had grown up in a strict, traditional military family with no idea how to communicate with people normally.

Just when she was about to message Luo Binghe and ask where he was, she heard a familiar voice behind her call, “ _Shizun?_ ”

Only one person called her that; it was in an in-joke they’d developed from their mutual interest in cultivation-based web novels and her status as his teacher.

Unconsciously, she smiled even before she turned to him, so widely that her friends (except Qingqi who looked long-suffering) all looked taken aback.

“Binghe!”

Then it was her turn to be taken aback.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, a faint anxiety crossing his face at her pause.

“You’ve grown… up,” Shen Yuan said. It was a massive understatement. Binghe had been just a little shorter than her when they met. Now he was so tall that he dwarfed her by at least a head. He was as tall as Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge, perhaps even taller.

He relaxed at that and laughed. It was a very nice laugh and Shen Yuan flushed a little, both from her own silly response and perhaps something else.

“It’s been almost five years,” he said. “Of course I’ve grown up.”

She softened a little at that. Through their communication, she knew how hard it was for him to maintain his studies and make a living for himself as an independent at the same time. The innocent face of his back then had now matured, but he was still Luo Binghe.

She suddenly felt a burst of humor after catching sight of some of the first year girls ogling Luo Binghe. He’d grown up well in another sense too… She looked up at his face; it was the handsomeness of a confident man with the abilities to back it up.

Feeling a bit mischievous, she asked, “Find a girlfriend?”

Binghe paused, and smiled at her as he said, “No.”

“Why not?” she asked curiously.

He didn’t answer, just steadily looked at her until even Shen Yuan felt the atmosphere become ambiguous. She changed the topic abruptly and didn’t comment even when Binghe smiled a little more warmly at her, intimate.

Qingqi looked at this wolf in sheep’s clothing, the unsuspecting lamb, then at the grouchy and faintly threatened Liu Qingge.

Yue Qingyuan, bless him, didn’t notice a thing. He was busy replying to a message from Shen Qingqiu.

 

* * *

 

 

Sect Head: Your sister’s past student might become her boyfriend.

Clear Calm Peak: I don’t care.

Sect Head: (;﹏;)

Clear Calm Peak: …

Clear Calm Peak: Bring over some wine tonight.

Sect Head: (◠‿◠)

 

* * *

 

 

Everyone was unsurprised (except Shen Yuan herself) when a few months later, Luo Binghe held hands with a faintly blushing Shen Yuan and announced they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Binghe positively beamed with happiness, while Shen Yuan still looked slightly embarrassed but did her best to hold onto her dignity. Qingqi didn’t want to know what Binghe did to put that look on her face. She’d seen Binghe before without Shen Yuan at his side and he was a completely different person – cold, unapproachable, with an edge like a subtle blade – so she knew his hidden depths likely contained sharks and other unmentionables. She had no interest in knowing anything more.

Qingqi toasted the happy couple and looked over at the angry, upset, and confused Liu Qingge. He’d figured it out about a month back but _still_ hadn’t realized his own feelings. She really didn’t know what was wrong with that poor man to be so oblivious, but ignorance was bliss. Perhaps he was better off not knowing.

 

* * *

 

 

Shen Yuan was a screaming mess inside, wondering just how she’d gotten herself hitched to the man beside her. Oh right, she’d handed out her contact information to a pure-looking boy student. Then she was too soft-hearted because he was honestly such a good boy and had so much potential. She couldn’t bear to hurt him. And somehow that transitioned into getting romanced and giving up her free spinster lifestyle to marry him.

He was even younger than she was. How was this her life?

“ _Shizun?_ ” he questioned, nosing along the curve of her ear, exhaling in a hot breath that made her shiver and clutch unconsciously at him.

“Nothing,” she managed, then was kissed within a centimeter of her life.

Luo Binghe didn’t like her attention drifting away from him and launched a full-scale assault that left her sore and immobile in the morning, facing a repentant Luo Binghe.

“Scram,” she said in response to his wheedling for another try. Then he snuggled closer to her in the sheets and hugged her close, whispering apologies until she softened and they both fell asleep again in the sun-warmed sheets.

**Author's Note:**

> Wechat (QQ) names for those who were confused:
> 
> Peerless Cucumber: Shen Yuan  
> Glacier: Luo Binghe  
> Sect Head: Yue Qingyuan  
> Clear Calm Peak: Shen Qingqiu (original)  
> 


End file.
